Jamie Keaten –
High-level envoys from the United States and China are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Tuesday to discuss artificial intelligence, including the risks of rapidly evolving technology and how to set common standards to manage them.
The meeting, billed as an opening exchange, is the first to build on the Intergovernmental Dialogue on AI agreed to during multilateral talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November. It is.
Both the United States and China believe that AI is critical to national security and economic growth, and Biden administration officials have said they will focus on developing AI that is safe, secure, and reliable. Officials insisted on anonymity in phone calls with reporters and previewed the meeting.
It also said it would outline how the U.S. is addressing potential risks arising from the technology by entering into voluntary commitments with leading companies in the field and requiring safety testing of AI products. .
The U.S. government also sees China's AI efforts as potentially undermining the national security of the U.S. and its allies, and the U.S. is eager to stay ahead of China when it comes to using AI in weapons systems. .
China's official Xinhua News Agency, citing the Foreign Ministry, said the two countries will address issues such as AI and technological risks to global governance.
Sam Bresnick, a researcher at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technologies, said the U.S. and China are both investing heavily in AI for civilian and military applications, but China is discussing the risks around AI with the U.S. He said he was “reluctant” to do so. .
“These meetings are an opportunity for U.S. officials to better understand China's approach to defining and mitigating AI risks,” Bresnick, who focuses on AI applications and Chinese technology policy, said in an email. said.
He downplayed the immediate possibility of a binding agreement to mitigate risks related to AI, but said the meeting would “build trust on both sides” and foster understanding around AI issues. there's a possibility that.
The White House's National Security Council said the U.S. team will be led by Tarun Chhabra, assistant to the president and senior director for technology and national security, and Seth Center, acting special envoy for critical and emerging technologies at the U.S. Department of State. Announced.
The conference discussed how artificial intelligence can be reined in, even as it advances rapidly and is poised to transform many aspects of daily life, from education and the workplace to copyright and piracy. It highlights the widespread competition among governments around the world to decide which countries to use.
Heads of government from a number of countries are scheduled to meet in Seoul next week for a second round of talks on the safety of cutting-edge AI models, following the first meeting held at a former wartime code-breaking base in Britain last year. .
Josh Boak in Washington, Emily Wang in Beijing and Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report.
